SANTA CRUZ -- Stefhon Hannah was actually excited for the Santa Cruz Warriors' seven-game road trip to open the 2012-13 season. Although playing in Texas, Reno, Nevada, Bakersfield, Los Angeles and finally Boise, Idaho, in less than a month isn't easy, Hannah could see the advantages.

"Because it's only us. It's only us," said Hannah, a 6-foot-1 guard for the Warriors who is second on the team with 16.3 points per game. "(On the road), we don't usually have the fans to cheer us on, and sometimes nothing is going right.

"So it's a good thing for you to be able to go out there with 10 guys and the coaches and the staff and come together, just to win."

Call them the Road Warriors.

After experiencing the second longest road stretch in the D-League this season -- Idaho has an eight-game road trip this year -- the Warriors will play for the first time at home Sunday at Kaiser Permanente Arena in Santa Cruz against the Bakersfield Jam (8-4).

Tip-off is at 5 p.m.

Playing in front of a sold-out home crowd will provide a different feel for the Warriors, who practiced at the arena for the first time Thursday. Head coach Nate Bjorkgren said from training camp to preseason and all the practices in between, it has felt like the team has been on the road for nearly two months.

"Our guys are good at this," Bjorkgren said. "Do we want to be playing in Santa Cruz and in this arena? No question. But they approach every game as like, it doesn't really matter what gym we're in or where we're at, we're gonna stick together and fight like crazy to try and win."

The team's travels couldn't have worked out much better. Not only did the players believe the away slate brought them together and built character, but also Santa Cruz completed its first road test with a 5-2 record -- currently tops in the West Division. The team's .714 winning percentage, meanwhile, is second overall in the D-League.

"But we have a lot of work to do. I'm telling you, a lot of work to do," added Bjorkgren, noting the small details on offense and defense are still being ironed out. "We've got to keep getting better every game and keep getting better every practice. It's really important not to ever take a deep breath and think that you've done something great when it's so early."

Hannah, for one, feels the team should be 7-0.

At least one of those losses can be avenged Sunday night.

The Jam provided Santa Cruz with its first defeat this season -- a 102-95 setback on Dec. 3 in which Bakersfield sealed the win with a 12-0 run in the fourth quarter. But Bakersfield, which is affiliated with the NBA's Atlanta Hawks, Los Angeles Clippers, Phoenix Suns and Toronto Raptors, has gone through several roster changes since upending Santa Cruz earlier this month.

Gone is rookie John Jenkins, who scored a game-high 22 points against Santa Cruz. He was recalled by the Hawks just a few days after the game, while Kendall Marshall, the University of North Carolina graduate who scored 21 points against the Warriors, was recalled on Friday by the Suns.

Renaldo Major, a Fresno State grad who played in one game for Golden State during the 2006-07 season, is currently leading the Jam with 13.7 points per game.

Golden State recalled two Santa Cruz players earlier this season, Kent Bazemore and Jeremy Tyler. But both those players only played one game each for Santa Cruz, and neither faced Bakersfield.

Bjorkgren nevertheless feels his team played great on the road. He especially liked his team's approach to every game, while the turnover-heavy nature of the league hasn't done much to affect Santa Cruz's cohesiveness.

Playing on the road has helped in that respect. Bjorkgren feels general manager Kirk Lacob has had a monumental role in that process, too.

"He does a really good job of bringing the right players in," said Bjorkgren, who talks with Lacob on a near-daily basis, whether it be via text, phone or email. "We get to talk about which players on this team are going to help this team win, are going to be team players who aren't looking at their own individual goals.

"Like I've always said, if you focus on the team and making the team as best as you can, your individual goals will take care of themselves."

For Santa Cruz, jumping out to the best record in the league hasn't been on the back of one player.

Travis Leslie, Santa Cruz's first-round pick in the November draft, is leading the team with 17.3 points per game. However, that output ranks 23rd in the league.

Hannah's 16.3 points per game follows in 29th, while Taylor Griffin's 13.6 points is 46th.

"We've got so many weapons on this team. Any given day, it could be anyone of us," said Leslie, who graduated from Georgia and was drafted by the NBA's Clippers a year ago. Leslie is averaging a team-high 8.7 rebounds.

"I don't go out there to score. I just go out there to play my game," Leslie added. "If it's not my night, it's someone else's and I'm going to feed them the ball."

No matter how well Santa Cruz might be playing, though, nothing has been accomplished just yet, said Hannah, who is one of three returners from last year's team. But now, at least everything that has been built on the road can finally be presented to the hometown crowd.

"We're looking forward to it. It's the first time in history for Santa Cruz to have a pro team," Hannah said. "We want to soak that in, but we also want to show the fans and everyone that supports us that it's going to be a great season.

"We're going to get it done. That's what we want to do."

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YOUTUBE: Fans can watch all D-League games on YouTube at www.youtube.com/nbadleague, or through the NBA D-League's website at www.nba.com/dleague.